Irish Mini Owners Club

Whats the difference between these?

Here is the std carb (?) on my 1L engine
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a90/Ro ... CT0073.jpg

and here is a carb that i got as part of a Stage 1 bundle. Apart from the fact that it says 'mini sport' on it, what is the difference between it and my std one? Oh, and the pipe jobbie at the front?

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a90/Ro ... CT0053.jpg

Cheers, Robyn

the "std" carb is an HS4 on the rover cast iron intake/exhaust manifold. the "bundle" carb is an HIF type, with the float chamber intergral to the body of the carb. The "pipe-jobbie" in the picture are the pipes for water heated intake manifold.
you will notice that the "minisport" manifold is intake only, and flows a lot better than the rover part.

which pipes will i put onto the pipes for water heated intake manifold? (pics appreciated.)

Will it be near enough a straight swap? Take off cast iron manifold and carb, put on water heated intake manifold and HIF carb?

Will i put the funnel (air intake) onto the newer unit, or is there some sort of k&n filter i can get?

Thanks for any replies.

take a look at this photo:
http://www.iol.ie/~home/mini/image/998-engine-bay.jpg
i have fed the heated manifold by plumbing it inline with the heater supply pipe: note that when you turn off the hot water to the heater, that also stops the intake manifold being heated. I figure that if i dont need heat neither does the manifold!

to use this intake manifold you *need* to have a separate exhaust ( http://www.maniflow.co.uk/images/new_ma ... _2_lcb.jpg ) manifold. your alloy intake manifold is *not* a straight swap for the standard rover part, as the factory item ( http://www.minimania.com/images/stockman.jpg ) is both an intake and and exhaust manifold.
changes need to be made to the exhaust sytem as well. read up on "stage one kit"

and now, as we live in litigious times:

note that my use of images from one or more suppliers does not constitute an endoresment of them or their products, and that i am not affiliated with them in any way whatsover. ever. ;)

General thinking tends towards not connecting the water pipes to the inlet manifold. I always found that my GT ran better with the pipes connected and the hot water circulating through the manifold

Yeah, i think this is the rest of the stg 1 kit...

http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a90/Ro ... CT0057.jpg

Separate exhaust bits everywhere :) and its a centre exit exhaust.

Do i need anything else to complete the stage 1 kit, or is that it? What about the air filter, is the std 1 good enough, or is there a k&N style/other recommened. this engine is a 1L.

Ok, it looks like you have the inlet and exhaust manifolds and exhaust system. Stage 1 kits either come with a K&N type air filter that replaces the original filter housing (cone type or cylinder type), or a K&N type replacement filter than fits inside the original filter housing, a replacement carb needle, gaskets and the exhaust mounting kit. Check out what is on offer from the likes of Mini Sport or Minispares

Thanks Dave and Keith

You're stars

having said all that, i fitted a stage one kit (from a well known supplier) to a 998 mini city last year. sounds lovely, seems quite economical and is quite happy cruising at 110+ kph where permited. *not* happy with the acceleration though, but that is entirely down to me messing about with the timing and mixture *after* Paul set it up. (thanks Paul!)
The kit i used came with timing and mixture suggestions, (5 degree BTDC @ 1000 rpm, vacum disconnected, 2.5% co, if memory serves) and thats definitely ball-park.

some variation on those numbers will probably yield results!

[quote]The kit i used came with timing and mixture suggestions, (5 degree BTDC @ 1000 rpm, vacum disconnected, 2.5% co,if memory serves) and thats definitely ball-park.[/quote]

OMG That is completely foreign language to me Think I might have to bring it to a proffie for that unless the boyfriend know what he's doing.

Not too sure what a carb needle is either, is it hard to replace those?

its a bit tricky the first few times you change a needle, after that you will look back and wonder what he fuss was about!
setting the timing you *will* need a timing strobe and a reasonably accurate tachometer. ive used the ones in the dash (if fitted) with reasonable succes.
to set the mix you will need a CO meter, which is expensive and less often found in an enthusuiasts toolkit. However you can get good results with a ColourTune (glass spark-plug thingy) or at a push the old-school method of raising the the piston 1/8 of an inch and listening to the note of the engine. if it increases, you are too rich, if it decreases you are too lean, if it increases momentarily and falls back then you are there.
note that what i have described is only setting the mix at idle... the mix accross the rev and load range is set by the needle profile, which is why you need to change the needle for the mods you are doing.
im in south dublin: if you get stuck give me a shout, ill bring my mini round so you can take a look.

TBH the only way to get the right needle and set up is to have a rolling road session done.

thanks for the offer Keith, I would jump at it, only I just realised i didn't state where i was based below my avatar. I live in Sligo, I'd say that's probably W-A-Y too far a trip, lol.

Isn't there a mechanic or similar fella i can bring it to for tuning/setup? Would such a person do this as part of their job description? Shows how little i know about this stuff

a little far, yes!
of course a mechanic should be able to do this for you. However, most large garages now seldom have either the equipment or the expertise to deal with older cars, so do ask before you show up.
Also enquire as to cost, as this is a simple procedure that should only take 10 mins or so.
I wonder if there is anyone reading this list that could reccomend such a place?

The nearest expert to you would be Mervin Johnston in Tullyhommon in Fermanagh, his garage is just over the border from Petigo.

Thanks for that lads

The mini's starting to take shape now, I've thrown a few coats of paint on the engine - a few more to go, the lads replace and weld in new panels when they can...she has a whole new front on, looks smashing, just need to finish off the rear i think before she's ready for smoothing and undercoating. Could take ages tho as its done in our spare time, but at least its progress.

I also need to get loads of bits for her, like complete rear hubs, brake pipes, fresh rubber pipes and pretty much everything else that goes back on to the car - i have full headlights sorted, as well as most of the door/window/boot rubbers &bumpers. Does anyone have any ideas if i can get these things in ireland, or do i have to order them from the u.k.?

OH, and where do i get replacement doors? '87 mk3.

She's gonna be one unique hottie when she's done, lol.